# Sources and implementation notes

Reviewed October 9, 2026. This app is independent of AMD, Microsoft and Hone. The supplied images are visual references only; no Hone code, assets or performance claims are included.

## Hardware and practical performance priorities

- [AMD Ryzen 5 7600X specifications](https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/desktops/ryzen/7000-series/amd-ryzen-5-7600x.html): identifies 6 CPU cores, 12 threads, DDR5 support, two graphics cores, memory-channel support and EXPO availability. The app's assessment that this small integrated GPU is often a gaming bottleneck is an engineering inference; this page is not an Ember benchmark.
- [AMD driver auto-detection and installation](https://www.amd.com/en/resources/support-articles/faqs/GPU-131.html): official path for finding compatible Radeon and Ryzen chipset drivers. Ember opens AMD Support; it does not download or install drivers automatically.
- [Microsoft: optimizations for windowed games](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/display-graphics/optimizations-for-windowed-games-in-windows-11): relevant to supported Windows 11 DirectX 10/11 games running windowed or borderless. This is a guide because applicability and per-game behavior matter.
- [Microsoft DirectX team: graphics settings](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/directx/navigating-the-redesigned-graphics-settings-page/): explains the presentation-path purpose of windowed optimizations. This does not establish a particular FPS improvement for the user's hardware.
- [Microsoft: display refresh rates](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/display-graphics/change-the-refresh-rate-on-your-monitor-in-windows): documents supported monitor refresh settings and their effects on display responsiveness.
- [Xbox team: Game DVR and performance](https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2016/10/14/tips-on-windows-10-and-game-dvr-optimization/amp/): historical first-party discussion identifying background capture as performance-sensitive. This is rationale for avoiding unused recording, not a claim that old Windows 10 behavior is identical on every Windows 11 release.

## Windows settings and registry scope

- [Microsoft Windows 11 settings reference](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/settings/settings-windows-11): documents `AutoGameModeEnabled`, `UseNexusForGameBarEnabled`, Start recommendations and related preference locations. This reference is primarily for reading settings and data portability. It is not a promise that arbitrary registry writes are an enduring settings API.
- [Microsoft common Windows settings reference](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/settings/settings-common): documents desktop transparency and Start/recent-item preferences, among other settings. Some documented entries refer to backup metadata, so the catalog uses actual per-user preference values rather than opaque backup blobs.
- [Microsoft: managing Windows component connections](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/privacy/manage-connections-from-windows-operating-system-components-to-microsoft-services): source for privacy preference concepts, app-launch tracking and language-list opt-out. This enterprise guide contains many machine policies that Ember deliberately does not implement. A per-user preference does not amount to a complete telemetry block or universal enterprise policy.
- [Microsoft: launching Windows Settings](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/develop/launch/launch-settings): URI reference for the `ms-settings:` destinations used by the manual guides. Individual pages may be unavailable on unsupported Windows versions or hardware.

The catalog also includes classic per-user desktop, capture and content-delivery preferences whose exact write behavior is not documented by Microsoft as a stable public contract. Those entries are intentionally optional except for the small capture/visual profile, contain tradeoffs, and can be restored through the journal. Their names and target values are visible in `Catalog.cs` and `catalog.json`. Unsupported values may remain stored but have no effect; matching a registry value never establishes an FPS benefit.

In particular, the numbered `ContentDeliveryManager` subscriptions, `SilentInstalledAppsEnabled`, `ScoobeSystemSettingEnabled`, older Game DVR preferences and Peek are version-dependent. Their presence in the catalog is not a claim that they apply to all Windows 10/11 installations. Windows Settings remains the authoritative place to check the visible preference on the installed build. No random timer, network bandwidth, HPET, boot-flag or process-priority folklore is included.

## App removal and implementation

- [Microsoft Win32_PhysicalMemory](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/cimwin32prov/win32-physicalmemory) and [DMTF SMBIOS 3.7 reference](https://www.dmtf.org/sites/default/files/standards/documents/DSP0134_3.7.0.pdf): firmware memory reporting; raw memory type 22h (decimal 34) denotes DDR5. Ember labels DDR5 only when the scanned modules report this type.

- [Microsoft Get-AppxPackage](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/appx/get-appxpackage): current-user package inventory.
- [Microsoft Remove-AppxPackage](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/appx/remove-appxpackage): package uninstall semantics. Ember targets only exact allowlisted installed package names for the current user. It does not use the all-users or provisioning-removal paths.
- [Microsoft registry provider](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_registry_provider?view=powershell-5.1): background on registry keys and typed values. Ember uses .NET registry APIs and a typed journal rather than assuming all values are DWORDs.

App availability is discovered at runtime. Several listed apps are legacy or optional. A current-user uninstall is a real removal with possible local data loss; reinstalling through Microsoft Store does not guarantee restoration of that data. Registry rollback cannot restore app packages or their data.

## What has not been claimed

There is no measured Ember FPS uplift, latency reduction percentage, GPU overclock or optimizer score. The 59 automated entries comprise 40 registry settings and 19 possible app removals; twelve manual guides are counted separately. Related recording settings are separate control values, not cumulative FPS multipliers. Applicability must be checked on the actual PC and improvements measured in actual games.